Shoe-filling machine



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' SHOE FILLING MACHINE Filed Feb. 19, 1931 March 7, 1933. I A. H. AVERY v snon FILLING MACHINE Filed Feb. 19, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Wli March 7, 1-933. A. H. AVERY 1,900,322

SHOE FILLING MACHINE Filed Feb. 19, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 HQ. 10. llslkgg 'A. H. AVERY SHOE FILLING MACHINE March 7, 1933.

Filed Feb. 19, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 (i l-1.15 I. [III II 7 a: n m

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Patented Mar. 7, 1933 UNITED" STATES" PATENT OFFICE I ALFRED H. AVERY, OI MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO NORTH. AMERICAN CHEMICAL COMPANY, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, A' CORPORATION 01 MASSA- onusn'r'r's SHOE-FILLING MACHINE Application filed February 19, 1931. Serial No. 516,862.

This invention relates to machines for use in spreading plastic shoe filler in shoe bottom cavities and consists in certain improvements upon and modifications of the shoe I bottom filling machines described in my application for patent Serial No.481,129, filed September 11, 1930. i

Formerly shoe filler of the plastic, spreadable kind has been spread in, the bottom cavities of shoes by hand. In laying bulk then deposit the segregated quantity of filler in the shoe bottom cavity and spread it means of the spatula within the cavity in much the same manner as a mason lays and spreads mortar; and finally he would usually pass a hot roller back and forth over thespread layer to compress and'smooth it. In laying individual, leaf-like pieces of plastic filler material, which have recently come] on the market, he would follow a similar procedure, spreading the pie-conditioned filler piece with the spatula and/or with a] This hand work was extremely la roller. borious owing to the nature of the filler material and was in many ways unsatisfactory;

and it is the object of thepresent invention to provide a machine for more efficiently and expeditiously filling shoes, for spreading the filler more completely throughout the cavity and all its crevices, making a more uniform filler layer and compacting and compressing the layer more firmly, for simultaneously flattening the welt seam or the inturned edge of the upper, as the case may be, and leveling the entire shoe bottom including the welt, if used, and generally producing filled shoes superior tov those produced by previous. methods. The machine also provides a pressing and spreading member which forms. a tight cover or closure With the welt seam or the inturned edge of the upper surrounding the cavity to prevent the filler from overflowing beyond the pe ripheral walls of the cavity during the pressing and spreading operation.

Other important features of the invention are a novel, flexible pressing and spreading pad, a novel adjustable toe rest for support-' ng the forepart of the shoe, novel welt supporting mechanism, and combinations of thesefeatures, adapted to facilitate andimprove the spreading and laying of shoe filler and, in the case of awelt shoe, at the same time to flatten and condense the welt Y seam,-,straighten and level the welt and to level, smooth and even upthe entire bottom quired in manipulating less even and uni- Other features will be o form shoe bottoms. hereinafter'described and pointed out in the claims. v

In the accompanying drawings: Fig. l is aside elevation of-a shoebottom filler machine embodying one form of my invention; v v V r.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the machine shoWnin Fig. 1; M

Fig. 3 is a partial section and plan view online 3-3 of Fig. 2, showing 'thejwelt supporting devices; i a Fig. 4 is a section on line H of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a section on line 5 5 of Flg. 1 showing a top plan View of the lower portion of'the pressing and 'spreading pad herein: after described; Y I Fig. 6 is a detail in plan of the toe rest hereinafter described;

Fig. 7 is a section on line 77 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a sectionon line 88 of Fig. 7; and V H Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are details illustrating. the process performed on a welt shoe mount-j ed on its last. i

the spring 18 is arranged within a pocket 29 The embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 8, inclusive, comprises a box-like frame 1 provided with a removable lid 2 which affords access to the interior of the frame 1. The frame 1 is made with four side walls and a bottom wall and serves as a container for a fluid lubricant by which all of the main bearings are lubricated.

- Pivotally mounted upon a fulcrum rod 3 Within the frame 1 is a bell crank lever 4 having a rearwardly extending arm connected by a link 5' with the pitman 6 of an cecentric 7. To the pitman 6 is also pivotally connected one end of a second link 8 whose opposite end is pivotally mounted at 9 on the frame 1. The two links 5 and 8 constitute a toggle which is operated by the eccentric 7 acting through the pitman 6.

The eccentric 7 is fast on a transverse shaft IOcarrying a worm gear 11 which is driven by a worm 12 fast on a shaft 13 extending rearwardly through the back wall of the frame or housing 1 tothe exterior of the latter, where it is provided with a pulley 14 compounded with a fly-wheel 15 Pulley- 14 is connected by a belt 16 with a pulley 17 fast on thearmature shaft of an electric motor M. This motor is fixed in position upon a shelf 1 forming part of the frame 1 and its circuit is provided with a switch, not shown, by means of which the motor is started and stopped.

The bell crank 4 also has one arm extending upwardly through a slot provided in the cover 2, and at its upper free end said arm is provided upon one side thereof with a socket 4*, within which is seated one end of a stiff coiled spring 18. The opposite end of 19 provided upon a second lever 19 which is also pivotally supported by the fulcrum rod 3. Lever 19 is constructed with a forwardly extending arm provided at its free end with a head 19 upon the under side of which is provided a presser pad, indicated generally at 20.

Directly below the presser pad 20 is pro- 7 vided shoe supporting means including a cylindrical block or roll 21 of fairly stiff vulcanized rubber, constituting a cushion sup port for the forepart of a boot or shoe,which is placed thereon as indicated by dotted lines at S in Fig. 1. This cylindrical block of rubber 21 rests within a semi-cylindrical holder or sprocket member 22 which in turn is adjustably seated upon the top side of a shelf 23.

Shelf 23 is rigidly but adjustably secured end and provided with a thumb nut 27 See Figs. 6, 7 and 8. The inner ends of the two bolts 26 are also threaded and screwed into a pair of threaded holes 24 provided in the front of the bracket 24. Several pairs of holes 24* are provided in the bracket 24, which are alined vertically in two rows, so that by shifting the bolts 26 from one pair to another the height of said bolts with respect to the bracket 24 may be varied when the rubber toe rest 21 is to be adjusted vertically.

The two bolts 26 occupy vertical slots 28 provided through shelf 23 so that the latter can be adjusted vertically to a limited extent without the necessity of shifting the bolts 26 from one pair of threaded holes on bracket 24 to another pair. VV'hen, how ever, it is desired to adjust the shelf 23 vertically to an extent greater than that shelf 23 may be adjusted vertically relativei ly to the bracket 24 to the extent permitted by the length of the slots 28. W hen the shelf 23 is to be adjusted to any greater extent, then the bolts 26 are shifted from one pair of threaded holes of bracket 24 to another pair of holes after which the shelf is accurately positioned by means of the screw The shelf 23 is made with a pair of lips or flanges 31, (Fig. 6) which fit against the opposite sides of the bracket 24, thereby holding the shelf 23 against lateral displacement and in such manner that it is free to be adjusted vertically as described.

The semi-cylindrical socket member 22 is provided at its middle with a depending stem 32 formed near its lower end with a transverse threaded aperture through which extends a threaded bolt or rod The depending stem 32 and threaded rod 33 are disposed within a pocket 34 provided upon the top side of; the shelf 23 and said threaded rod has a shank portion which extends through the front wall of the pocket 34 to the exterior of the shelf, where it is provided with a hand-wheel 35. By manuallyrotating hand wheel 35 and rod 33 the socket member 22 may be adjusted inwardly and outwardly on the shelf to position the toe rest 21 properly for the style, size or type of' shoe being operated upon. The socket member 22- is made with a flat bottom to fit against the top of the shelf 23, and at the opposite sides of this flat bottomare pro- L'LO lateral displacement and to guide the socket. 1 member 22 in its movementson the shelf when the rod 33 is rotated.

The front end of the spring 18, Fig. 1,.

bears against an abutment block 36 which in turn rests against the inner end of an abutment screw 87 adjustably mounted in a.

- 42 provided upon a lateral extension 43 on threaded hole provided in the lever 19.

I At the rear of the upwardly extending arm of the bell crank 4, the lever 19 is made with a cross bar 19 through which is provided a threaded hole to receive an adjustable stop screw 38. The inner end of this stop screw cooperates with the upwardly. extending arm of bell crank 4 and serves to. limit the rearward movement of said arm' relatively to the lever 19.

While the machine is in use the motor M is operating through pulley 17, belt 16, pulley 14, shaft 13, worm 12, worm gear 11,

the bell crank 4 acting through spring 18 and lever 19 and it will therefore be clear that the maximum degree of pressure or the pad 20 against the shoe will be determined by the adjustment of the abutment screw 37 and may be varied in either direction by adjustment of said screw. Thus as the bell crank 4 nears the limit of its movement to the right (Fig. 1) and the pad 20 comes into engagement with the shoe the upwardly extending arm of said bell crank may move away from the stop screw 38 and compress the springlS- The normal angle of the presser arm 19 to the bell crank lever 4 may be adjusted by adjusting the stop screw 38. It is advantageous to adjust the arm so that the presser pad 20, were it not arrested by r the shoe bottom, would normally swing a little beyond the level of the shoe bottom upon its downward or operative stroke, and

will therefore first engage the filler with a slightly oblique thrust, instead of preciselynormal, until the presser pad reaches the end of its stroke in strong, vertlcal pressing engagement wlth the shoe bottom. As the bell crank 4 starts to move in the opposite direction the spring 18 will expand until the upwardly extending arm of the bell crank engages the stop screw 38 after which the lever 19 will be swung upwardly carrying the pad 20 with it.

When operating upon a shoe which has no welt, such as a McKay shoe or a turned shoe, the only shoe support necessary is the toe support 21. When, however, the machine is to be used for filling a welt shoe, provision is other.

different sizes and shapes.

made for supporting the welt during the fill-' ing operation. :The bracket 24 is made with a pair of vertically disposed apertured bosses 39 (Figs. 1, 3, 6 and 7 on which are pivotally mounted a pair of forwardly extending arms 40. These arms are connected by a tension spring 40* which yieldingly urges the free ends of said arms toward each forked lateral extension 41' engaging .a stud the other arm 40. The two arms 40 are connected together or interlocked in this fashion so as to move in unison in oppositedirections. That is, when either arm is swung on its pivot pintle 44 in; either direction it operates through the connection. just de- One of the arms 40 is made with a scribed to swing the other arm to thesame extent but in the opposite direction.

Upon the top of each arm 40 is mounted a welt supporting plate 45 which is pivotally connected near its outer end to the outer end I i of its arm 40, as at 46. Theinner ends of the welt supporting plates 45 areconnected by a tension spring 47, which yieldingly urges said inner ends toward each other. The welt supporting plates 45, 45, are thus permitted a universal lateral movement to conform and adjust themselves to shoes of Each welt supporting plate 45 is made with an arcuate slot 48 to receive a stud 49 provided on arm' 40, said slot 48 being concentric with the pivot 46. The engagement of the studs 49 with the outer ends of the slots 48 limitsv the movements of the welt supporting plates 45 toward each other under the influence of spring47.

The inner edges of the welt supporting plates 45 are-inwardly curved, as shown at 50in Fig. 3', and also beveled, as shown in Fig. 2, thereby to adapt said inner edges to fit into the seam crease of a shoe between the welt and the upper as shown in Figs. 3,10 and 11. j

As shownfin Fig. 2, one of the arms 40is provided with a stop screw 52'to cooperate with the lug 30 of the frame section 24, said stop screw serving to'limit the movements of the arms 40 toward each other under the influence of spring. 40 when the shoe is removed from the machine. The stop screw 52 serves to hold the two arms 40 in positions to permit a welt shoe to be slid endwise and toe first into position between said arms as described.

The presser pad 20' '(see Figs. 1, 2 and 5) comprises a body consisting of a rectangular plate 53, to the under side of which are rigidly fixed two marginal strips 54, one at the rear side thereof. Between these two strips 54 are arranged three metal bars or To: the bottom side of the metal block 5-5 is fastened, as by means of rivets 57, (Fig. 5),"

a downwardly bowed, resilient, sheet metal plate 58 hearing at its front and rear edges 5?;aga-inst the. under sides of the body strips or bars 54:. These same rivets 57 also serve to fasten another downwardly bowed, resilient,

sheet metal. plate 59 to the top side of the middle block 55.

Q The front and rear margins of the upper spring plate 59 rest upon and are supported by the inner, upper edges of the front and rear body strips 5a, and said plate is held against displacement longitudinally of the ;,body strips 54 by means of the heads of screws 60. The threaded shanks of these- .screws occupy tapped holes in the sides of the plate 53.

As indicated by dotted lines in Fig- 5, the

2 :..middle block 55 which is riveted to the two .the two blocks 56. In this manner the two blocks 56 are interlocked with the middle sheet metal plates 58 and 59 is provided adjacent its middle and upon opposite sides thereof with studs 55 occupying slots 56 formed transversely in the adjacent sides of block 55 so that they are held against endwise movement relative thereto but can. move up and. down freely relatively to the middle :block and. the two marginal bars 54. This 4 heating units 61 are in operation. while the machine is in use and. it will therefore be clear that the pad 20 subjects the filler ma-- terial on the shoe to a heat treatment while it is being operated upon by said pad, which is necessary or desirable for the best results with the preferred kinds of filler material.

The body 53, 54-, of the hot presser pad is supported by screws 63 extending up.-

Y wardly from the plate 53. loosely through.

apertures provided in the head 19. .The

screws 63 are provided adjacent their upper ends with nuts 6d resting on the upper. ends of springs 65, which in turn are supported at their lower ends by the head 19% the head 19" is provided a rectangular sheet metal plate 66 and an insulating pad 67 preferably of asbestos. Plate 66 and insulating pad 67 are each formed with apertures through which the screws 63 loosely extend. The blade of a knife or spatula used for dipping up a quantity of filler can be inserted between plates 66 and 56 forv .heating-the tool, the springs permitting;

thebody plate 53 to yield downwardly as Between the'body plate 53 of pad 20 and.

the knife blade is'forced edgewise into po sition between the two plates.

The mode of operation of the machine will in general be evident to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description but may be briefly summarized as follows: The operator deposits a measured quantity of shoe filler in the bottom cavity of a shoe, while the shoe is still on its last L (Figs 9,. 10 and 11) and before the outer sole is at-- tached. The shoe filler used may be any of the well known varieties of plastic filler, used in bulk or mass form, from which the operator dips or scoops up a quantity suit-- able for filling a single shoe bottom cavity, or it may be shoe filler furnished and used in individual piece form, such as that illustrated. in the Thoma Patent No. 1,793,340,; dated February 1?, 1931. In either case the ller material recommended is of the kind which requires heat in order to spread it properly in the shoe bottom cavity although it will be understood that the ma chine is applicable to filler mate-rial which is spreadable cold, by merely cutting out the heating units of the presser pad 20.

The operator then shoves the shoe, bottom. side up with the unspread filler placed in the cavity, endwise and toe first into operative position underneath the hot presser pad 20, with the forepart of the shoe resting on the toe support 21, and, in the case of a welt shoe, with the welt supporting plates l5 in the seam crease immediately underneath the overhanging welt. The arms l0 and plates 45 will be spread apart by the shoe as it is pushed in and the plates will conform and adjust themselves to the shape and size of the shoe. While the shoe is supported in this position the hot presser pad descends and spreads the filler laterally in every direction to the confines of the shoe bottom cavity defined by the lip of the welt seam in the case of a welt shoe, or by the inturned edge of the upper in the case of a McKay shoe. The first action of the presser pad is: to soften the filler by the heat and to spread and level the filler within the cavity, but as the hot presser pad approaches the end oi its stroke the operating face of spring plate 58v engages the welt seam, or the lapped margin of" the upper, as the case may be, the first effect of which is to forma seal or barrier with the welt seam or lapped margin preventing the overflow or spreading of the filler from within the cavity to the outside of the cavity walls, and the final effect of which is to flatten, condense and level the welt seam, or the lapped and pleatedmargin of the upper, while simultaneously completing the spreading and laying of the filler,- condensing and compacting the same, consolidating it with the cavity walls and the inner sole, and-flatteningthe entire shoe bottom,;including.the

filler layer, the welt seam and the welt, or the lapped margin of the upper, as the case may be, to a substantially even plane in the best possible condition to receive the outer sole. If there are any wrinkles in the inner sole, as sometimes happens especially in the case of light inner soles such as are used in womens shoes, th'e presser pad will smooth them out and press and shape the inner sole into close fitting engagement with the bottom of the last. The yielding or flexible construction of the presser pad permits it to conform substantially to the curvature or. shape of the shoe bottom as formed on the ,last so that atthe completion of the stroke the pressure will be brought to bear over the entire areaof the shoe bottom being acted upon. Moreover, since the surface of' the' flexible presser pad bears on the entire peripheral cavity wall, which surrounds the cavity excepting at a line across the sole between the forepart and the Shank and so closes the joint between the presser pad and thefsole against overflow at the cavity walls, any excess of filler in the cavity being unable to escape past the cavity walls will be extruded by the pressure through the crack or space opening toward the shank and may be readily scraped or knocked off. 1

Thewelt supports 45 also level up the welt as well as' supporting it against the presser of the presser pad.' When first attached to the shoe upper a welt rarely lies fiat and level but inclines in the direction of the upper, as illustrated at W in Fig. 9. When positioned upon the welt supports 45 (Fig. 10) the welt W is leveled and straightened; and when the presser pad 20 comes down, not only is the unspread plastic filler F (Fig. 10) leveled and spread throughout the cavity and consolidated (see F in Fig. 11), but the welt seam is also flattened and leveled and the welt is set in flattened and leveled position, all as shown in Fig. 11. In order thus to flatten and condense the welt seam the presser pad 20 must exert greater pressure than is required for a McKay or a turned shoe which has no welt seam. The desired pressure for the work in hand may be regulated by adjusting the abutment screw 37 which governs the pressure exerted through spring 18. The toggle joint 5, 8, is capable of enormous pressure but the ultimate pressure exerted at the presser pad is dependent on spring 18. If desired for any particular class of work the presser pad 20 may be turned ninety degrees on the head 19" so that the curve of the presser surface 58 may extend transversely instead of longitudinally of the shoe.

Since a McKay shoe or a turned shoe has no welt the arms 40 and welt supporting plates 45 may be removed when operating upon such shoes by removing the pintles 44 from the bosses 39. The toe rest 21 is used for alltypes of shoes and as this consists of a block or roll of rubber or other equivalent, non-abrasive, slightly cushioning material, it savesthe shoe upper from injury or disfigurement. Excepting for theaction of the welt supporting devices the operation on a McKay shoe is substantially as described in connection with a weltshoe.

I claim:

1. A shoe bottom filling machine comprising a shoe support, a pressing and spreading member having a flexible working face of spring sheet metal, a'number of relatively movable blocks behind said sheet metal, and means to impart relative movement between the shoe support and the pressing and spreading member toward and from each other.

'2. A shoe bottom filling machine compris ing a shoe support, a pressing and spreading member having a flexible working face I of spring sheet metal, a number of relatively movable blocks behind said sheet metal, 7

means to heat certain of said blocks, and means to impart relative movement between the shoe support and the pressing and spfieading member toward and from each ot er.

3. A shoe bottom filling machine comprising a shoe support, a pressing and spreading member having a flexible working face of spring sheet metal, a number of relatively movable blocks behind said sheet metal, means yieldingly pressing the movable blocks toward the sheet metal facing, and means'to impart relative movement between the shoe support and the. pressing and spreading member toward and from each other. 7 f I 4. A shoe bottom filling machine comprising a shoe support, a'pressing and spreading member having a flexible working face of outwardly bowed spring sheet metal, a number of relatively movable blocks behind said sheet 'metal, a second bowed sheet metal spring adapted yieldingly to press themovable blocks toward the sheet metal facing, and means to impart relative movement between the shoe support and the pressing and spfieading member toward and from each 0t er.

5. A shoe bottom filling machine comprising a shoe support, a pressing and spreading member having a flexible working face of outwardly bowed spring sheet metal, a number of relatively movable blocks behind said sheet metal, a second bowed sheet metal spring adapted yieldingly to press the movable blocks toward the sheet metal facing,

6. A shoe bottom filling machine comprising a pressing and spreading member, welt supporting members adapted to engage underneath the welt of a shoe along the seam crease between the welt and the upper, and means to impart relative movement between the pressing and spreading member and the welt supporting members toward and from each other.

7 A shoe bottom filling machine comprising a pressing and spreading member, a pair }of laterally movable welt supporti ig plates ada ted to engage underneath the welt of -a s oe along the seam crease between the welt and the upper, and means to impart relative movement between the pressing and spreading member and the welt supporting plates toward and from each other.

8. A shoe bottom filling machine comprising a pressing and spreading member, welt supporting members adapted to engage underneath the welt of a shoe along the seam crease between the welt and the upper and having abeveled or undercut edge opposite the supporting surface, and means to impart relative movement between the pressing and spreading member and the welt supporting members toward and from each other.

9. A shoe bottom filling machine comprising a pressing and spreading member, a pair of welt supporting members adapted to engage underneath the welt of a shoe along the seam crease between the welt and the upper, means for mounting said welt supporting members for universal lateral movement to adjust themselves to shoes of different sizes supporting plates toward and from each other. i

12. A shoe bottom' filling machine comprising a pressing and spreading member, a toe support adapted to support the forepart of a shoe, a welt support adapted to engage underneath the welt of a shoe, and means to impart relative movement between said pressing and spreading member and said support toward and from each other.

13. A shoe bottom filling machine comprising a pressing and spreading member, a toe support adapted to support the rorepart of a shoe, a pair of laterally movable welt supporting members adapted to engage underneath the welt of a shoe, and means to'impart relative movement between said pressing and spreading member and said supports toward and from each other.

14;. A shoe bottom filling machine com- 1 prising a pressing and spreading member, an adjustable toe support adapted to support the torepart of a shoe, a pair of laterally movable welt supporting members adapted to engage underneath the welt or a shoe,-

and means to reciprocate the pressing and spreading member toward and from said supports. I

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts this seventeenth day of February 1981.

ALFRED H. AVERY.

and shapes, andv means to impart relative movement between the pressing and spreading member and the welt supporting members toward and from each other.

10. A shoe bottom filling machine comprising a pressing and spreading member, a pair of arms .pivotally mounted ror lateral movement on the machine, a pair of welt supporting plates pivotally mounted respectively for lateral movement on top of said arms, means yieldingly urging said plates toward each other, and means to impart relative movement between the pressing and spreading member and the welt supporting plates toward and from each other.

11. A shoe bottom filling machine comprising a pressing and spreading member, a pair of arms pivotally mounted at their inner ends for lateral movement on the machine, a pair of welt supporting plates pivotally mounted respectively at their outer ends for lateral movement on top of said arms, a spring yieldingly urgingsaid plates toward each other, a spring yieldingly urging said arms toward each other, and means to impart relative movement between the pressing and spreading member and the welt 

